It was just a month ago today, I headed out for my first training run after concluding that I should "try" a sprint triathlon. If I'd thought about it sooner, I'd have liked to start training earlier. It wasn't until after I decided that I wanted to "try" this, that I actually looked at the calendar. As a life-long cyclist, the 20K ride wouldn't be a problem, but I've never been a runner, and summer swim team is 40 years behind me. The 5K run would be the real challenge for me. The 400 meter swim will probably not be pretty, but I think I can get through it.
My normal running route for the past week or two, has been a 3.14 mile loop (5K). That route goes from my front door and loops around the Community Center. I've been arriving home from this run pretty much spent. Today, I thought I would "try" to bring two pieces together for the first time. My plan was to run up to the Community Center and "try" to swim 200 to 400 meters, depending on how it felt when combined with the running. Then I would finish with the run home. Since this would be a first for me, I though I would shorten the run by making a bee-line for the Community Center and then back via the same route. That would shave a mile or so off my "standard" loop. However, about when I got within sight of the Community Center, I realized that I had forgotten my ID and wouldn't be able to "try"combining swimming with running. At that point, it was a relatively easy decision to convert my run back to my normal distance. I was feeling pretty good as I turned onto my street. So, on a whim, I though, "I should 'try' hopping on the bike and riding back up to the Community Center for a swim." So I would "try" my first transition at my own home.... Grab my ID, change shoes, put on my helmet, gloves, get a drink, grab my bike out of the garage, and go. As near as I can tell, that took about 4 minutes, but I felt pretty good getting on the bike. I've been doing all my running in the mornings, but now it was around 6:00 PM and although the sun was setting, the temperature was still nearly 100 degrees. The evaporate cooling effect at bike-speed was refreshing, so, I opted for slightly more riding than the bee-line route back to the Community Center. But the distance wasn't really the point. It was novel for me to do ANYTHING after running 5K, besides flopping down on a patio chair until the sweating and the panting subsided enough for a shower. So, after only about 8 minutes on the bike, I arrived at the Community Center and transitioned again into the pool. I paused for a breather at 250 meters, only to hear that the pool was closing. (Who knew, 6:30 on Sunday? Well, not me!). ...out of the water and back on the bike, I rode home. In the end, within just over an hour, I ran 5K, biked a total of 3.5 miles, and swam 250 meters. So, I try-ed!
Monday, August 30, 2010
email to the cross country running coaches a Boulder Creek High School
I live in Anthem and am both a runner and a cyclist. Now that school is back in session, I've noticed something that I would like to bring to your attention. In the morning, I often see school atheletes running in the bike lanes facing traffic, particularly going south along Gavilan Peak Parkway between Anthem Way and Memorial Drive. Many of us have been taught to walk facing traffic. However, this advice only applies in cases where there is no sidewalk. This is specifically addressed by Arizona law (ARS 28-796): "If sidewalks are provided a pedestrian shall not walk along and on an adjacent roadway". Given that I cannot think of any roadway in Anthem that doesn't have an adjacent sidewalk, I contend that nowhere in Anthem is it proper to run in the roadway.
I'd be happy to discuss with you the several reasons why I believe that if runners are going to violate this law and run in the roadway, it would be safer for them to run in the direction of the traffic. However, I doubt that the school wants to endorse illegal behavior. I think the most prudent thing, is to instruct runners to stay out of the road except while crossing at designated crosswalks. In defense of the runners, I have noticed that they do seem to pay particular attention to crossing Gavilan Peak Parkway using the traffic signals and crosswalks at Memorial Drive. This is very good!
I think the best strategy for all concerned is to look for running routes which capitalize upon the miles of off-street walks and trails in Anthem. I have spent many hours with Google Earth and other mapping software, studying the network of trails throughout Anthem and I have devised many routes of varying distances and surfaces (concrete, decomposed granite, dirt, etc). I would be happy to work with you and your team members to design routes which meet their training needs while discouraging the use of the roadway.
Unfortunately, many if not most of the adult runners that I see, are also misbehaving exactly as I have described. What I would like to see is a whole new generation of runners that understand why it is so dangerous for them to run in the roadway facing traffic. While we are at it, it might be good to make sure that if any of the students are also cyclists, they should understand that they DO belong in the roadway and NOT on the sidewalks. Traffic laws are for everyone's protection. Obeying them is in everyone's best interests. School is a good place to reinforce this.
Please feel free to call me at 623-326-3455 if I can help.
Thanks for your time,
I'd be happy to discuss with you the several reasons why I believe that if runners are going to violate this law and run in the roadway, it would be safer for them to run in the direction of the traffic. However, I doubt that the school wants to endorse illegal behavior. I think the most prudent thing, is to instruct runners to stay out of the road except while crossing at designated crosswalks. In defense of the runners, I have noticed that they do seem to pay particular attention to crossing Gavilan Peak Parkway using the traffic signals and crosswalks at Memorial Drive. This is very good!
I think the best strategy for all concerned is to look for running routes which capitalize upon the miles of off-street walks and trails in Anthem. I have spent many hours with Google Earth and other mapping software, studying the network of trails throughout Anthem and I have devised many routes of varying distances and surfaces (concrete, decomposed granite, dirt, etc). I would be happy to work with you and your team members to design routes which meet their training needs while discouraging the use of the roadway.
Unfortunately, many if not most of the adult runners that I see, are also misbehaving exactly as I have described. What I would like to see is a whole new generation of runners that understand why it is so dangerous for them to run in the roadway facing traffic. While we are at it, it might be good to make sure that if any of the students are also cyclists, they should understand that they DO belong in the roadway and NOT on the sidewalks. Traffic laws are for everyone's protection. Obeying them is in everyone's best interests. School is a good place to reinforce this.
Please feel free to call me at 623-326-3455 if I can help.
Thanks for your time,
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Anthem Trails email sent to HOA
I believe that the location of the makeshift bike course, pictured in the August 5, 2010 edition of "In & Out", is just down the street from my house. While it is easy for the HOA to point the finger at the residents, I believe they also bear a certain responsibility. Looking at the trail signs posted around the neighborhood, it is clear that many of the trails which were planned, were never built. In fact, a trail was planned for the desecrated area in the picture. Had the planned trail been built, vandalism in this area would not have occurred. The kids who built this bike park would not have felt they were in an abandoned parcel of the community. They picked that area precisely because it didn't have a trail going through it. It is a place where the sidewalk literally ends.
It appears that many people, including some of the-powers-that-be, feel that environmental regulations prevent improvement in the washes. It becomes easy to say, "We can't put a sidewalk through a wash! That's a protected area." And yet, the maintenance crews can dump loads of cholla, or piles of boulders in washes to discourage traffic through them. You can't have it both ways! I believe that properly engineered accommodations, such as trails and culverts can be built, particularly in cases where doing so is part of repairing existing damage to the environment or to protecting it from future damage. Many examples of such accommodations already exist within the community. Clearly, there are administrative hurdles to such plans. Does that mean we shouldn't investigate them? Of course we should. We should operate from the premise that rules will not prevent us from protecting our environment.
The improvised bike park is not an isolated situation. A casual observer can recognize many opportunities to improve the trail system here in Anthem: foot paths, made by people going where they want to go, where there is no accommodations to limit their impact on the environment. Rather than simply threatening to enforce rules, the HOA should take stock, and determine what can be done to accommodate where people want to go and protect the environment. Why are so many crosswalks un-marked? Why isn't Memorial Drive striped with bike lanes? How come it's so difficult to ride a bike from the paved multi-use trails to the on-street bike lanes, without encountering a curb? I believe that few Anthem residents are aware of the Maricopa Trail. The Maricopa Trail is planned to circumnavigate the county, linking parks and recreation areas throughout the county, via a multi-use (hiking, biking, and equestrian) trail. An important segment of this trail lies within Anthem, and yet miles of barbed-wire fence and threatening signs hide this gem. The Maricopa Trail should be a featureof the community, not something we fence ourselves away from! Anthem has miles of beautiful trails and bike lanes. But, it could be even better. It could be world-class. Such distinction would not only be good for the environment, but good for property values. The active lifestyle promoted in the brochures, could be more than just marketing hype.
The community enhancement funds were clearly intended to address such issues. Let's build a list of problem areas around the community and prioritize them. We can work with the regulating bodies to get permits to empower us to protect our open spaces and to enhance opportunities for residents to enjoy these areas responsibly. But the residents cannot possibly do this without the leadership and support of the-powers-that-be.
It appears that many people, including some of the-powers-that-be, feel that environmental regulations prevent improvement in the washes. It becomes easy to say, "We can't put a sidewalk through a wash! That's a protected area." And yet, the maintenance crews can dump loads of cholla, or piles of boulders in washes to discourage traffic through them. You can't have it both ways! I believe that properly engineered accommodations, such as trails and culverts can be built, particularly in cases where doing so is part of repairing existing damage to the environment or to protecting it from future damage. Many examples of such accommodations already exist within the community. Clearly, there are administrative hurdles to such plans. Does that mean we shouldn't investigate them? Of course we should. We should operate from the premise that rules will not prevent us from protecting our environment.
The improvised bike park is not an isolated situation. A casual observer can recognize many opportunities to improve the trail system here in Anthem: foot paths, made by people going where they want to go, where there is no accommodations to limit their impact on the environment. Rather than simply threatening to enforce rules, the HOA should take stock, and determine what can be done to accommodate where people want to go and protect the environment. Why are so many crosswalks un-marked? Why isn't Memorial Drive striped with bike lanes? How come it's so difficult to ride a bike from the paved multi-use trails to the on-street bike lanes, without encountering a curb? I believe that few Anthem residents are aware of the Maricopa Trail. The Maricopa Trail is planned to circumnavigate the county, linking parks and recreation areas throughout the county, via a multi-use (hiking, biking, and equestrian) trail. An important segment of this trail lies within Anthem, and yet miles of barbed-wire fence and threatening signs hide this gem. The Maricopa Trail should be a featureof the community, not something we fence ourselves away from! Anthem has miles of beautiful trails and bike lanes. But, it could be even better. It could be world-class. Such distinction would not only be good for the environment, but good for property values. The active lifestyle promoted in the brochures, could be more than just marketing hype.
The community enhancement funds were clearly intended to address such issues. Let's build a list of problem areas around the community and prioritize them. We can work with the regulating bodies to get permits to empower us to protect our open spaces and to enhance opportunities for residents to enjoy these areas responsibly. But the residents cannot possibly do this without the leadership and support of the-powers-that-be.
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